Amazon has just announced the launch of Appstore Developer Select, a brand new program for developers that create Amazon Appstore and Fire OS optimized apps and games that use Amazon APIs such as GameCircle, In-App Purchasing, and Mobile Ads. The new Appstore Developer Select Program offers additional merchandising and promotion benefits to developers that create apps that meet the program qualification requirements.

Amazon launched the new Appstore Developer Select Program at this time so that developers would be able to optimize their apps and games in time for the upcoming holiday season, one of the busiest times of the year for app downloads and purchases. According to Amazon, the week after Christmas "more apps are sold than any other week during the year."

Developers whose apps already qualify for the Appstore Developer Select Program will be automatically enrolled. Developers that create a qualifying mobile or HTML5 web app(s) will receive additional benefits including:

Amazon Coins Rewards to Customers to Improve Conversion - First-time purchasers of Select paid apps and in-app items will be rewarded with an extra 250 bonus Coins. Customers purchasing your app or your in-app items will receive up to 30% of the purchase price back in Amazon Coins.

25% off AWS Services to Help You Scale - Earn 25% credit back on qualifying purchases of Amazon Web Services (AWS) products, up to a maximum $500 credit per year.

Mike George, Vice President of Amazon Appstore, Games and Cloud Drive, stated for the press release that:

"Mobile app developers have told us that getting their apps discovered across the numerous devices customers are using is one of their biggest challenges. With the Appstore Developer Select program, we’re addressing these discoverability concerns by providing developers with enhanced merchandising opportunities. In addition, we're helping drive sales by offering Coins rewards on high quality, engaging apps for customers."

For more information about the Appstore Developer Select Program and program requirements, visit developer.amazon.com.

About the author:Janet Wagner
is a data journalist and full stack developer based in Toledo, Ohio. Her focus revolves around APIs, data visualization, machine learning, and data-driven journalism. Follow her on Twitter: @webcodepro, Google+, or send her an email.